Tod Leiweke named CEO of Seattle’s expected NHL team

Tod Leiweke named CEO of Seattle’s expected NHL team

One of the worst-kept secrets in Seattle sports became a reality Wednesday when Tod Leiweke was named CEO and president of a soon-to-be NHL expansion franchise to play at a remodeled KeyArena.

“It’s an incredible thrill to come home,” Leiweke told reporters at a Seattle Center news conference Wednesday at Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center. “Not just for me but for my family.”

Leiweke’s older brother Tim is spearheading the $600 million arena renovation as head of the Los Angeles-based Oak View Group. Tod Leiweke, a former Seahawks CEO who served in that same capacity with the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning after leaving Seattle in 2010, has long been rumored as a future hockey president here.